An Insider's Guide to Editing

While the technology used to publish educational resources has changed dramatically, the terminology used to describe what editors do hasn’t really kept up. Terms left over from previous eras, such as “typesetting” and “proofreading”, don’t really describe what we do now.

These days, text is primarily edited on computers for the web, to be digitally printed, or to be printed offset. Tasks that used to be done by printers, such as typesetting, are now “done” by writers and editors. Not every editor understands this, which is why poor choices are sometimes made about fonts, line lengths, spacing, and so on.

Commissioning editors
Structural editors
Copy editors
Further reading
House styles

Commissioning editors

Commissioning editors work with clients to develop briefs for writers and other resource developers. They provide writers with templates that capture a client’s house style. In their role as project managers, they bring together advisory groups to provide clients with expert feedback on drafts.

Use a commissioning editor when you want something to be written and peer-reviewed.

Commissioning editors typically also structurally edit work.

Structural editors

Structural editors take what writers and other resource developers write and restructure it so that the message gets across with the greatest clarity. They do this at three levels:

At the chapter and section level, they consider the order in which information is presented. For example, would some of the text be better placed in an appendix or supported by a graph?

At the paragraph level, are the paragraphs “chunking” information in a helpful way? Would restructuring some of the information into bullet points help, for example? Are important things missing altogether?

At the sentence level, is information conveyed in a user-friendly way? For example, readers tend to find active constructions easier to decode than passive ones, and technical terms sometimes needs to be explained.

Use a structural editor when you want something to be, at least in part, rewritten and reordered to make it a more effective resource. For example, is your training manual written and structured to best suit the needs of most of your learners?

Structural editors are often just called “editors”. Typically, they also project manage publishing projects.

Copy editors

Once a piece of text has been commissioned and then structurally edited, it needs to be prepared for design and print, or uploading.

Copy editing involves checks for grammar, punctuation, spelling, factual accuracy, heading styles, internal consistency, and the client’s house style. Elements as diverse as footnotes, bibliographies, references, diagram captions, glossaries, imprints, page numbering, chapter heads, contents pages, and a good deal more need to be correct before publications go to design.

For text in which an extremely high level of accuracy is required, standard practice is to include a “fresh-eye check” by a second copy editor. For technical publications, at least one of the copy editors should ideally have some specialist knowledge of the technical discipline, for example, education.

Use a copy editor after you have signed-off the structural edit, to complete the task of getting your text ready to go to design.

Expect an editor to manage the work of a copy editor, making final decisions on your behalf about which changes to take in.

Copy editors are also called “line editors” and “style editors” and even, on occasion, “proofreaders”.

House styles

If your organisation regularly publishes in print and/or on the web, it’s in your interest to develop a house style. Lift Education can assist you with developing, maintaining, and applying one.